End of 20: Lightning 2, Bruins 1

(Photo courtesy of Bridget Samuels)

BOSTON — It looked like Lightning was going to strike the Bruins twice inside the TD Garden, as Tampa Bay got on the board first — just 13 seconds into the opening frame. But Boston fired back and tied it up just past the midway point.

The struggles continue: Johnny Boychuk couldn’t get the puck crisply out of the Bruins’ end and into the neutral zone…and on came the Lightning. Vinny Lecavalier zipped a shot wide of B’s netminder Tim Thomas when the puck fired back oddly off the end-boards — directly to Thomas’ right — where Adam Hall burried a yawning net with a backhander, just 13 seconds into the opening frame.

But the B’s got their groove back when matching roughing minor penalties were assessed to Andrew Ference and Victor Hedman at 2:31. The 4-on-4 onslaught (despite only registering one shot on goal) lasted for a better part of the two-minutes, and beyond. Tampa Bay used their one-and-only timeout as they iced the puck while the ice was continuing to slant in Roloson’s direction.

Nathan Horton (6) got the B’s power play off the schnide, tipping a rocket one-timer from Seidenberg (6), from Kaberle (4), past Roloson with exactly 0:01 remaining on the Hall minor. It’s their first power play goal of the series, and are now 3-for-44 for the post season.

After minor penalties to Zdeno Chara (unsportsmanlike conduct) and Steve Downie (roughing), Martin St. Louis made it 2-1 Lighting with just 6.5 seconds remaining

Despite the scoreboard, the Bruins dominated the first 20. Peverley leads the B’s in face-off wins, 6-for-7 (86%); Seidenberg logged 9:56 of TOI; Lucic has four SOG; Horton registered three hits